The Real Deal New York

Sotheby’s, Town & Country expand on the East End

For some, summertime in the Hamptons is all about relaxation. Not so for two of the East End’s biggest residential real estate brokerages. Town & Country Real Estate and Sotheby’s International Realty are in the process of expanding their office spaces.

Town & Country recently moved into a new 1,600-square-foot space in East Hampton that is connected to its current office at 52 Main Street, founder Judi Desiderio told The Real Deal.

Along with Desiderio’s office, the new digs will accommodate the firm’s marketing and IT executives, administrative staff, and eight agents, including six newcomers to the firm who have yet to be hired, she said.

Two months after construction started, Desiderio said her office was still strewn with ladders, and workers were finishing up the job. “I wanted them out of here by the Fourth of July, but this time of year, nothing works on schedule,” she said with a laugh.

In Southampton, Town & Country plans to open up a 2,000-square-foot building after outgrowing its current location at 50 Hampton Road. Construction is already underway, and the firm expects to move in late October or November, Desiderio said.

Meanwhile, on July 13, Sotheby’s International Realty popped Champagne corks to celebrate the expansion of its Sag Harbor office, which had previously housed marketing and administrative staff and operated as a satellite location for the firm’s Hamptons agents. Sotheby’s has additional East End locations in Southampton, East Hampton and Bridgehampton.

The full-fledged office at 7 Spring Street will house about five full-time agents, including a couple of future hires, said Debra Reece, manager of the Sotheby’s Bridgehampton office.

Interest in the Sag Harbor and North Haven markets started climbing recently, possibly because of the understated appeal of the area, Reece said. “We’ve had transactions in every price category there and are continuing to see a high degree of interest by customers,” she said.

Sag Harbor “has a lot of old world charm to it,” she added. “It has the benefit of its own waterfront and marina, restaurants and retail, but it also seems to offer quieter venues for people who are interested in a quieter spot.”